A hemorrhaging woman is observed by the speaker of the poem (Plath) who may be standing at a flower-stand in the street, although this is never stated and is unlikely; poppies are never sold as cut flowers as they die immediately after being picked. Is this sick woman also the poet in another guise? Her ‘red heart’ may be a metaphor for grief, or maybe she is in the throes of a miscarriage, as suggested at the beginning of the next stanza when Plath refers to a ‘love gift’. Strangely, she seems to disappear from this story, though the questions she raises remain in the reader’s mind.

The ‘red heart’ also suggests a ‘bleeding heart’, meaning soft-hearted and over-compassionate. ‘Bleeding Heart’ is also the common name for the flower of the genus Dicentra. Furthermore, there is a religious association in that Jesus has been portrayed in paintings with a sacred bleeding heart.

But Plath barely pays attention to the woman other than to use her as an example of how beautiful the “Poppies in October” are – hence “Nor.”

Yet, the woman’s “red heart blooms” “astoundingly”. Despite the intense and profound, semi-religious and tragic associations of the ‘red heart’ and ‘red flower’ imagery, for Plath it still does not match the astonishing appearance of the poppies.

This line does two important things. First, it establishes what has been cut. Secondly, it doesn’t say something like: “I accidentally cut my thumb while cutting onions”

Instead, it offers a detached statement. The strong caesura in the form of a period gives the statement no excitement or pain. It is merely an observation.

“Oh, my thumb is cut.”

After the first line, “What a thrill—,” and the concise detached information, one may wonder why cutting her thumb is a thrill.

A metrically incomplete line, i.e. a line of verse lacking a syllable. This is sometimes done on purpose, most often in English poetry for writing poetry in trochaic tetrameter catalectic.

Blake’s “The Tyger” is a famous example of using catelectic trochaic meter. Cullen’s “Heritage” is a more recent example.

Generally verse is done in this meter because it creates a marching rhythm and a rushing speed which moves readers on to the next line.

Also spelt “blazon”. Originally this meant a formal, part-by-part description of a coat of arms, flag, or the like. In poetry and literature it refers to a stylised, often metaphorical description of a woman’s physical appearance. The speaker typically itemizes the woman’s body, part by part, and compares each to another entity of beauty.

Shakespeare generally disapproves. Sonnet 130, “My mistress’s eyes are nothing like the sun,” is a parody of a blason.

Blasons of greater or lesser quality are a feature of Petrarchan poetry, especially sonnets.

There are several interpretations of this line. One is that it refers to the Cuban Missile Crisis, which was happening at the time of this poem’s composition. It could therefore relate to the world’s political tensions. However, Plath was never specifically a political poet.

This line could be interpreted in otherl ways. Plath feels isolated, abandoned, and paranoid, especially since the breakdown of her marriage, which left her somewhat alienated as an American in England.

Plath may also be referring to the way her blood and body seem to be betraying her. She wonders whose side they are on; maybe even they are aligned to her death. Running throughout the suicide-haunted Ariel poems is the question of whether Plath personally favors life or death.

Helen Vendler, famed poetry critic, asserts Plath frequently tries to provide a “binocular” view of both “life” and “death” in all her poems, only finally succeeding in Ariel. (cf. essay on Plath in Last Looks, Last Books.)

Champagne, specifically rose champagne, is the metaphor here. Her blood (perhaps now being stanched by gauze) looks like rose champagne, so she declares the event a celebration.